 | |
| Acronym | PWG |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| Style | Professional wrestling Sports entertainment |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Founder(s) |
|
| Owner(s) | Joey Ryan |
| Website | prowrestlingguerrilla |
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) is an Americanprofessional wrestling promotion based inLos Angeles,California. As of 2024, it is on an extended hiatus. It was created by pro wrestlersDisco Machine,Excalibur,Scott Lost,Joey Ryan,Super Dragon, and Top Gun Talwar.[1] Since then, Disco, Talwar, Ryan and Lost have retired and left the company.
The promotion debuted on July 26, 2003, and became known for its unique mix of humor and pro wrestling as well as their over-the-toppress releases and show titles, such as "Kee_ The _ee Out of Our _ool!", "Free Admission (Just Kidding)", "Straight to DVD" and "From Parts Well Known". In 2016,Dave Meltzer of theWrestling Observer Newsletter called PWG "the best wrestling in North America".[2]
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla commonly runs shows every month, which are then usually sold via DVD and Blu-ray. The promotion's flagship event,The Battle of Los Angeles, is held annually between August and September. Co-owners Excalibur and Super Dragon are responsible for all behind-the-scenes details. Excalibur is agraphic designer and creates website and DVD cover artwork; Super Dragon has been thesole booker since 2010, along withediting shows and composingYouTube previews.[citation needed]
In May 2003, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla announced its first show that would take place on July 26. The promotion released an online press release announcing the show's main event that would feature what would have been the first match to take place betweenA.J. Styles andSamoa Joe.[3] PWG announced more matches in the weeks leading up to their debut event, featuring a mix of well known independent wrestlers and many local Southern California stars. Due to injuries and booking conflicts, the card ended up being changed several times. Samoa Joe was unable to compete in the promotion's debut show because of an injury that he had suffered in a match withPaul London at aRing of Honor event a few weeks earlier. He ended up being replaced byFrankie Kazarian.[4]
Despite only running six shows in its first year, PWG was voted "Promotion of the Year" in the 2003 SoCalUncensored.com Year End Awards.[5] Along with putting local wrestlers in many of their storylines, PWG also brought in many out of town talent that weren't booked on other local shows. During its first year, PWG brought in wrestlers such as A.J. Styles,Christopher Daniels,[6] Samoa Joe,[7]CM Punk,[8]Homicide,[9]Chris Hero,[10]Brian Kendrick,[11] andColt Cabana.[7]
In July 2004, PWG moved to theHollywood/Los Feliz Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles. The first show in the new building saw A.J. Styles take onRocky Romero, CM Punk versus Super Dragon, Samoa Joe andRicky Reyes versusBryan Danielson and Christopher Daniels, and a loser leaves town,steel cage match between Adam Pearce and Frankie Kazarian where Adam Pearce ended up losing the match and left PWG.[12][13] After this event, PWG would run at the Hollywood/Los Feliz JCC for the next two years, and was nicknamed "The Sweatbox" by its fans due to the heat that the building would generate during warm nights. PWG's popularity continued to grow in the Southern California area, and across the world thanks to PWG distributing their own DVDs on their website, and through various reviews posted on many popular internet wrestling message boards. As PWG went on, their normal attendance numbers would begin to grow from 150–200 fans per show to 250–500 in a span of two years.[citation needed]
In April 2005, PWG ran its first All Star Weekend shows[14] during the weekend ofWrestleMania 21 and drew their biggest crowds at the time. PWG booked several stars such as A.J. Styles, Christopher Daniels,James Gibson,Chris Sabin,Jonny Storm,Kendo Kashin, Samoa Joe, and many other TNA and ROH stars to participate in the weekend's events. In September 2005, PWG ran the first annualBattle of Los Angeles tournament, featuring A.J. Styles, Christopher Daniels, James Gibson, Super Dragon,Kevin Steen,El Generico, and several others.[15]Chris Bosh would end up winning the tournament by defeating A.J. Styles in the finals.
In February 2006, PWG held two shows inEurope. The first event was held inEssen,Germany.[16] The second show was held the night after the Essen event inKent,England.[17] Both shows featured the majority of PWG's regular roster, along with several European wrestlers. In July 2006, PWG announced that they would be leaving the JCC due to the gym being turned into a gymnastics training center for young children. The final match in the building saw Joey Ryan defend the PWG World Championship againstB-Boy in a steel cage match.[18] PWG would go on to run inReseda, California, for the next few months at the localAmerican Legion post. In February 2007, PWG moved to theVan Nuys Armory, which is located a few minutes away from the Reseda venue.
In March 2007, PWG's Commissioner of Food and Beverage Excalibur stripped Cape Fear (El Generico andQuicksilver) of thePWG World Tag Team Championship when Quicksilver was unable to compete because of a class twoconcussion he suffered during a match withDavey Richards andRoderick Strong.[19] A tournament entitled theDynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament, or DDT4, was held on May 19 and 20 at the Burbank Armory to crown new tag team champions, with Roderick Strong andPAC emerging the victors against the Briscoe Brothers in the tournament finals.[20][21]
On May 3, 2007, PWG released a statement via the PWG Message Board at PWG's official site announcing they would no longer be working withTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) after TNA presented them with a contract that would prevent contracted TNA wrestlers from appearing on DVDs sold through any third parties, including PWG's long-time partner Highspots.com.[22] PWG stated that after looking at several solutions, including ending their contract with Highspots, releasing their DVD solely through their website, and removing all matches featuring TNA wrestlers from their home releases, they made the decision to end their relationship with TNA and thus were no longer able to book TNA wrestlers. This resulted in the loss of Frankie Kazarian, the first holder of the PWG World Championship,The Motor City Machine Guns ofAlex Shelley andChris Sabin, who were already booked to compete in the tournament for the vacated PWG World Tag Team Championship, and Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles,Low Ki, and Christopher Daniels, all of whom had been booked to appear on upcoming shows.[23]
PWG celebrated their fourth anniversary with a show on July 29, 2007 at the Burbank Armory in Burbank.[24] The event was scheduled to haveThe Briscoe Brothers on the card, but the team did not appear at the event which caused the card to be changed. The show ended up seeing Bryan Danielson defeatNecro Butcher in aStreet Fight,Kevin Steen and El Generico defeat Roderick Strong and PAC for the PWG World Tag Team Championship, and Bryan Danielson defeat El Generico to become the new PWG World Champion after issuing a challenge to him that ended up leading to an impromptu match to close the show. The show drew 500 fans, which tied the record for the largest live crowd to witness a PWG event.[25] The show also made Southern California wrestling history, as five matches from the event were ranked in the Top 5 of the SoCalUncensored.com's monthly rankings, an accomplishment no other promotion had been able to achieve.[26]
In February 2009, PWG made some notable wrestling news when recentlyWWE released Colt Cabana (Scotty Goldman) made a surprise appearance at a PWG show and wrestled for the world title merely 24 hours after his release.[27]
In September 2009,Bryan Danielson ended the longest PWG World title reign (at the time) in PWG history when he defeatedChris Hero. After winning, Danielson forfeited the title to sign withWWE. A new champion was crowned at the 2009Battle of Los Angeles, won byKenny Omega.
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On January 30, 2010, PWG held Kurt Russellreunion, as part ofWrestleReunion, in front of their biggest crowd ever and featuredJushin Thunder Liger,The Great Muta,Super Crazy andRob Van Dam in his first U.S. independent wrestling appearance plus the reunited tag team ofPaul London and Brian Kendrick all in action.
On February 27, 2010 atAs the Worm Turns,Kenny Omega lost the PWG World Championship toDavey Richards. Also at the event,The Young Bucks made history by tying with Richards and former partnerSuper Dragon for most PWG World Tag Team Championship title defenses, with twelve.
On April 10, 2010 atTitannica, The Young Bucks defeated The Briscoe Brothers to officially set the record for most successful title defenses with thirteen. Their record-setting reign ended on May 9, 2010, when ¡Peligro Abejas! (El Generico andPaul London, (literal translation: Danger Bees!)) defeated them to become the new champions.
On July 30, 2010 at PWG's seventh anniversary show, one of the company's founders, Scott Lost, wrestled his retirement match against Scorpio Sky.[28]
On September 13, 2010, Davey Richards vacated the title after deciding he was not going to be able to defend it due to commitments to Ring of Honor and Japan.[29]Claudio Castagnoli won the vacant title on October 9, 2010, by defeating Chris Hero, Joey Ryan andBrandon Gatson in a four-way match.[30]
On January 29, 2011, PWG held another show during theWrestleReunion 5 weekend, which included a special "Legends battle royal" andJake Roberts facingSinn Bodhi in what was billed as Roberts' retirement match.[31] On July 23, PWG held their eighth anniversary show, during which Kevin Steen defeated Claudio Castagnoli in an impromptu match to win the PWG World Championship for the second time.[32] On October 22, 2011, one of PWG's founders, Super Dragon, made his first appearance since May 2008, saving Kevin Steen from The Young Bucks, who had just cost him the PWG World Championship in aladder match with El Generico.[33] On December 10, Steen and Dragon, wrestling his return match, defeated The Young Bucks for the PWG World Tag Team Championship, starting Dragon's record-breaking sixth reign with the title. Also at the event, Japanese veteranDick Togo wrestled his final match in the United States, losing to El Generico.[34] On December 1, 2012, Joey Ryan, having recently signed a contract with TNA, wrestled his PWG farewell match, where he was defeated by Scorpio Sky.[35][36] Ryan, however, remained a part owner of PWG and eventually returned to the promotion in August 2013, following his release from TNA.[37]
On January 12, 2013, another longtime PWG wrestler,El Generico, made his final appearance for the promotion, having recently agreed to a deal with WWE.[38] 2013 saw a multiple talented independent wrestlers debut for the promotion, with the likes ofJohnny Gargano,Jay Lethal,Samuray del Sol,Trent?,A. C. H.,Anthony Nese andTommaso Ciampa all debuting between All Star Weekend in March and Battle of Los Angeles in August. 2013 also saw several wrestlers depart PWG for WWE's developmental territoryNXT. In June,Sami Callihan and Samuray del Sol, neither of whom had spent much time in PWG, wrestled their final matches for the promotion,[39] while in December, two longtime PWG wrestlers, Davey Richards andEddie Edwards, also made their final appearances for the promotion.[40] Also in December, Chris Hero, who had recently been released from WWE, returned to PWG.[40]
In August 2014, Kevin Steen, who had worked regularly for PWG since 2005, left the promotion for WWE. In an interview on WWE's official website, Steen credited PWG for getting him signed, mentioning how he was invited for a tryout afterWilliam Regal had seen one of his PWG matches.[41]
In December 2015, PWG and ROH announced a working relationship, which would allow ROH contracted wrestlers to continue working for PWG.[42] ROH contracted wrestlers (and former PWG World champions)Adam Cole andKyle O'Reilly made their first appearances in PWG since December 2014 at All Star Weekend 11 in December 2015.
In February 2018, a purported PayPal error caused fans to order more tickets than originally allocated for the show "Time is a Flat Circle". This meant that PWG had to run the show outside of their usual home of Reseda, CA, for the first time in over six years. The show instead took place at the Globe Theater in Los Angeles, CA.
In March 2018, PWG announced that they were leaving Reseda, CA. Although PWG officials tried to book later dates at American Legion Hall, the venue was sold and they were not allowed to book dates there past June 1.[43] On May 25, 2018, PWG hosted their last event in Reseda titled "Bask in his Glory." (This was also the farewell event of former PWG world championKeith Lee). Their first event of 2019 was Hand of Doom whereJeff Cobb defended the title against the departingTrevor Lee. Their next event was called Two Hundred which saw the debuts of Aussie Open,Latin American Exchange andJonathan Gresham.
PWG went on a hiatus during theCOVID-19 pandemic and did not hold any events throughout 2020. PWG's first show in almost two years was Mystery Vortex 7 in 2021. The 2023 Battle of Los Angeles saw the surprise PWG debut ofAll Elite Wrestling starChris Jericho.
During their main event match ofWrestleMania 39 Night One,Kevin Owens andSami Zayn both wore ring gear that featured the PWG logo, marking the first time the promotion’s logo had appeared on WWE programming. During the post-show press conference, Owens and Zayn thanked both Super Dragon and the entire PWG for helping them in their careers.
PWG was forced into a second hiatus in August 2023 when Super Dragon announced there would be no more PWG shows for the indefinite future as he needed to attend to his girlfriend, who is battling with cancer.[44] In November 2023, the Globe Theatre (PWG's home base since 2018) announced it was closing down with immediate effect.[44]
As of May 17, 2025
| Championship | Current champion(s) | Reign | Date won | Days held | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PWG World Championship | .jpg) | Daniel Garcia | 1 | May 1, 2022 | 1112+ | Los Angeles, California | DefeatedBandido atDelivering The Goods. |
| PWG World Tag Team Championship |   | Kings of the Black Throne (Malakai Black andBrody King) | 1 (1, 1) | September 26, 2021 | 1329+ | Los Angeles,California | DefeatedBlack Taurus andDemonic Flamita atPWG Threemendous VI for the vacant titles. |
| Accomplishment | Latest winner(s) | Date won | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battle of Los Angeles | Mike Bailey | January 8, 2023 | Los Angeles, CA |
| Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament | Andrew Everett andTrevor Lee | May 22, 2015 | Reseda, Los Angeles |
Below mentioned is a list of some major events held by PWG annually:
| Name | First held | Last held |
|---|---|---|
| Anniversary Event | 2006 | 2023 |
| Battle of Los Angeles | 2005 | 2023 |
| Mystery Vortex | 2012 | 2023 |
| Name | First held | Last held |
|---|---|---|
| All Star Weekend | 2005 | 2018 |
| Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament | 2007 | 2015 |
| WrestleReunion | 2010 | 2012 |
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